


To See a New Face (To Hold a New Hand)

by aktura



Series: So It Goes (Some Things Are Meant to Be) [2]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alpha Dustin Henderson, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Awkward Conversations, Billy Hargrove Being an Asshole, Bonding, Child abandonment (mentioned), Intimacy, M/M, Mating, Omega Steve Harrington, Platonic Kissing, Scent Marking, Sharing Clothes, Sharing a Bed, but nothing yet 'cause they're still taking it real slow, talk about future sexual relationship between Steve and Dustin, the talk (kinda)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:48:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24478213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aktura/pseuds/aktura
Summary: “I don’t know what I’m doing,” Dustin whispers against Steve’s shoulder, like Steve’s not supposed to know.Steve can empathize. “We’ll figure it out together, yeah? Like we did with Dart and the Demodogs.”In which it's morning, and reality sets in.
Relationships: Steve Harrington & Claudia Henderson, Steve Harrington/Dustin Henderson
Series: So It Goes (Some Things Are Meant to Be) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1768057
Comments: 17
Kudos: 110





	To See a New Face (To Hold a New Hand)

**Author's Note:**

> First off, thank you so much to everyone who commented/bookmarked/left kudos on the first fic in this 'verse! I’m blown away by the response it garnered!
> 
> Here, have a soft sequel of little substance.

//

Steve startles himself awake with a sneeze. His nose itches, and it’s hot – borderline sweltering – beneath the covers, which is odd since he usually sleeps with the window cracked open. His body feels heavy, like it’s being weighed down, and it’s only when he reaches up to scratch at his nose and ends up burrowing his fingers into a head of wild curls, that Steve remembers.

Dustin’s a long line of heat up against Steve’s side, arm stretched across Steve’s chest and head resting on his shoulder; Steve can feel soft, sleep-slow exhales tickling the side of his neck where the pup’s face is angled up, and his nose butts against Steve’s ear when Steve turns his head, like Dustin nodded off determined to keep scenting him even in sleep. Steve flushes a little at the thought as Dustin begins to stir, the pup’s inner Alpha probably sensing that its Omega is awake; he feels Dustin nuzzle closer, inhaling deeply against Steve’s neck and then carefully – almost lazily – mouthing at the skin there. 

Steve sighs softly as he feels himself start to drift again, falling into a sleepy, happy space where all he has to do is lie back and let his Alpha do as it pleases. He’s still too warm though, so he clumsily pushes at the covers to get rid of some of that stifling heat. 

Dustin groans in protest as Steve begins to move, clutching at him like a limpet instead of helping, like he thinks Steve’s trying to leave the bed. Steve grabs one of his wrists and tugs, trying to loosen his grip on Steve’s shirt, but Dustin simply burrows closer instead, and Steve resigns himself to his fate. It takes him a moment, but he eventually manages to kick the covers off despite Dustin’s clinging, and sighs in relief as the cool air settles over them both. 

It seems to rouse Dustin, because he huffs a breath against Steve’s jaw and pushes himself up on an elbow, blearily blinking against the morning light. He looks stoned, pupils dilated, and _fuck_ , Steve thinks, because it’s 8:17 in the morning according to the alarm clock on the bedside table and the pup’s already scent drunk.

“Steve?” Dustin mumbles, before shaking his head as if to clear it, and then dips down to scent at Steve’s collarbone. He hums, nosing his way up along the side of Steve’s neck, and Steve tips his head back to give him more room to explore.

“We should—” he starts to say, but then Dustin licks across Steve’s scent-gland, and Steve kind of forgets what it was they should do.

He drifts a bit, losing track of time; Dustin’s hand is cupping the side of his face, holding him in place as he noses and licks along Steve’s neck, and Steve’s Omega is practically purring in satisfaction as it basks in the affection its Alpha is showing. 

It’s only when the sound of the phone ringing cuts through the pleasant haze that Steve comes back to himself. One of his hands has found its way into Dustin’s hair, fingers buried in the curls to prevent him from pulling away, and Dustin’s wrapped around him like an octopus, arms and legs pinning Steve to the mattress.

Steve flinches as the phone rings again. “Dustin—” 

He gently places a hand on Dustin’s shoulder, trying to push the pup off him, and Dustin whines in displeasure but rolls to the side so that Steve can sit up and swing his legs over the side of the bed. Once Steve’s out from under him Dustin rolls back onto his stomach and buries his face in Steve’s pillow, but judging by his muffled, dissatisfied groan it’s a poor substitute for the real thing. 

Steve feels a pang of affection at the sight and reaches out to smooth his palm down Dustin’s spine. The touch makes Dustin surface, lifting his head from the pillow to peer up at Steve, and Steve can’t help but lean down to nuzzle at the hinge of Dustin’s jaw, inhaling the Alpha-scent that’s so strong right there, just below Dustin’s ear. He doesn’t realize that his eyes have slipped closed until he’s startled back into reality again by the shrill sound of the phone, which is still stubbornly ringing.

“Fuck,” he says, “I gotta—”

Steve pulls away, pushing himself off the bed and hurrying out of the room before he can second-guess himself. By the time he finally makes it to the hallway table where the phone sits, the ear-piercing sound of it has managed to clear his head to the point that he manages not to fumble as he lifts the handset and answers the call.

“Hello?”

“Good morning, sweetheart,” Mrs. Henderson says on the other end of the line. “It’s Claudia. I’m sorry to bother you, but do you have Dusty there with you? The school called.”

“Uh,” Steve says, because fuck, yesterday was Thursday, which means today’s Friday, which means they’re both late to class. “Yeah, he’s here.”

Dustin picks that moment to drag himself out of Steve’s bedroom, looking a bit unsteady on his feet as he shuffles over and gestures at the handset Steve’s holding. Since he doesn’t look _too_ out of it anymore, Steve hands him the phone, wondering if the sound of the call had been as much of a bucket of cold water to Dustin as it had been to Steve. 

He feels strangely like a pup caught with his hand in the cookie jar as he listens to Dustin’s side of the conversation, like he shouldn’t have kept Dustin away from school or his mom – like he should’ve asked someone for permission first – but the Omega in him doesn’t care, preening at having had Dustin close by all night. 

“Yeah. Yeah, I will,” Dustin tells his mom, “okay, thanks.” 

He hangs up, turning to Steve as soon as the receiver’s back in the cradle, and plasters himself against Steve’s side as he wraps his arms around Steve’s waist. Then he sighs into Steve’s shoulder, and, probably feeling the tension running through Steve’s body, mumbles, “She knows, y’know.”

“What? She does?”

Dustin pulls back to give him a pointed look. “Steve. I’ve been staying the night at your house for _weeks_. I used to sneak out at fucking midnight to sleep on your porch. Of course she knows.”

“Language,” Steve says, mostly out of habit than anything else, and then he adds, “She’s pretty great, your mom,” because it’s true; Mrs. Henderson is kind and warm, always welcoming, and he can imagine Dustin confiding in her in ways Steve would never think to do with his own mother, even if she’d been around more. 

“Yeah,” Dustin agrees, and he squints up at Steve, hesitating like he wants to say more. Steve keeps his mouth shut and looks back at him, content with simply rubbing his palms across Dustin’s shoulder – and sure enough, after a moment’s pause Dustin adds, “My dad’s an Alpha.”

“Ah,” Steve says, because Dustin never really talks much about his dad. 

It’s a sore subject, but from what he’s been able to gather the man left when Dustin was just a baby, or maybe even before that, and have been out of their lives ever since. Steve’s got an incomplete picture of the exact sequence of events, but he thinks Dustin might have just handed him the first of the missing puzzle pieces. 

“I didn’t know that,” he clumsily tries to recover, running his hand down Dustin’s back in what he hopes is a soothing gesture. 

“He left a few months before I was born,” Dustin confides, tightening his hold on Steve’s shirt, fingers clenching in the fabric at the small of his back. “He found his Omega, and I— I always hated him for leaving us, but now… I don’t think I could’ve ever stayed away from you, either. Not even if I already had someone.”

Steve takes a moment to consider this. “It’s not the same, though,” he says carefully, trying to comfort but not overstep, even though all he wants to do is barge right into all parts of Dustin’s life and claim his rightful place there – to get as involved as he can in Dustin’s business. “Even if he left your mom, he should have come back for you.” 

And it’s the truth; matings, when they happen, more often than not tend to override or cancel out any prior commitments the Alpha or Omega might have. Steve’s not surprised to learn that an Alpha chose to leave his Beta wife for his newly discovered mate, but the Omega in him balks at the thought of abandoning a pup for any reason. There’s no excuse for that.

“Yeah,” Dustin says, though he doesn’t sound too convinced. “Maybe. But that’s how Mom figured it out. My dad used to leave the house at night, too.”

There’s a slight waver to his voice, and Steve pulls him closer, bending at the knees a little so that Dustin can reach to scent along his jawline – can feel that Steve’s Omega smells of contentment and of Dustin. It seems to work; Dustin inhales deeply against the skin at the hinge of Steve’s jaw, and when he speaks again his voice sounds a bit steadier. 

“It was when they lived in Indy,” he explains. “One night she followed him, and he was sitting outside another house watching the front door. It was, like, two in the morning, and they got into a fight, and then the Omega came out of the house. Mom left him and came here after that.”

Steve blinks. “Was that what you were doing when you snuck out at night? Watching out for me?”

Dustin shakes his head against Steve’s shoulder, curls brushing against Steve’s cheek. “It’s stupid,” he says, voice muffled by the fabric of Steve’s T-shirt. “Not like I could’ve done anything anyway if— if someone like Billy had come over.”

“Hey, no,” Steve says, pulling away so that he can catch Dustin’s gaze, and when Dustin finally looks back up at him, he adds, “It was nice of you, and it felt— good having you here. It made me feel good.” 

He hesitates, then leans down to press his lips against Dustin’s – just a short, chaste kiss, a little token of affection, like the ones he’s seen family members exchange sometimes, because while he and Dustin might not be related by blood, it’s going to be the two of them from now on out. 

“Thank you,” Steve says once he’s pulled away, and Dustin makes a soft noise, looking thunderstruck. Steve can feel the pup’s fingers clutching at the back of his shirt like Dustin doesn’t know what to do with himself. “It’s pretty late,” Steve says. “Do you need me to drive you to school?”

Dustin licks his lips, swallowing hard. “No, uh, my mom’s going to call them back and get me excused.” He leans in to sniff at the base of Steve’s throat. “Can we go back to bed now? I want to—” He breaks off, looking unsure of how to explain whatever new instincts are hitting him at the moment.

“Yeah,” Steve says. “Sure. Whatever you want.”

//

They crawl back into bed and stay there for another hour, curled around each other beneath the covers. Steve presses his face against Dustin’s shoulder before nuzzling his way up along his jawline, and Dustin indulges him, petting at the nape of Steve’s neck as Steve shakily inhales against his scent-gland and lets the Alpha-scent carry him away.

He floats for a while, inner Omega just about to break out in a purr as it savors the feeling of comfort that comes of having its Alpha so close and so very attentive, and he only surfaces again when he feels the press of fingertips against his cheek.

“Steve?” Dustin says, touching his face again, and he sounds a bit concerned – Steve can’t help but wonder how long the pup’s been trying to get his attention.

“Hmm,” Steve hums, fully prepared to sink back into the pleasant high of his Alpha’s scent, but then Dustin’s stomach growls and Steve’s Omega immediately rouses, sitting up and taking notice. 

For a split second Steve’s torn between the desire to stay right where he is – in bed surrounded by his Alpha – and the need to make sure Dustin’s fed and comfortable and properly taken care of. The latter quickly wins out, even before Dustin’s stomach gives another growl.

“You hungry?” Steve mumbles. He lifts his head off Dustin’s shoulder, feeling an almost physical ache as he tears himself away and blinks his eyes open to peer over at the pup. 

They’re lying face to face, Dustin so close that Steve can make out the different shades of blue in his eyes as well as the somewhat sheepish look on his face. 

“Sorry,” Dustin says, and Steve shakes his head.

“No, s’alright. We should eat.”

He feels a bit wobbly as he crawls out from beneath the covers, almost like he’s tipsy, but once he’s sat on the edge of the bed for a moment or two he feels steadier. 

Dustin stumbles after him as Steve makes his way downstairs, but where the pup would usually hop onto the kitchen counter or maybe take a seat at the table to watch Steve make breakfast, he now trails after Steve as Steve makes his way around the kitchen, stepping on Steve’s heels like a hovering mother hen.

After the third time Steve turns around and walks right into the pup, he abandons his plans to make pancakes or something else substantial and simply pops some bread in the toaster instead. Dustin doesn’t complain like he usually does when Steve denies him a big breakfast – he simply keeps hovering, and when Steve finally reaches for him, Dustin crowds him up against the counter and wraps his arms around Steve’s waist in a tight hug, leaning up to tuck his face into Steve’s shoulder.

They end up carrying their plates upstairs and having breakfast in bed. Dustin spills toast crumbs all over the covers but Steve can’t find it in himself to mind; the pup’s practically inhaling his sandwiches, and Steve’s just happy that he has a healthy appetite, especially considering how frantic he’d been when he sought Steve out in the early morning hours. 

Once they’re done Steve shoos Dustin off the bed long enough to shake the crumbs out of the sheets, and then he lets Dustin pull him back beneath the covers. They doze for a while, or at least Steve does – now and then he can feel Dustin scent him at the base of his throat or in his hair, hands carefully petting at Steve’s arm or shoulders like the pup’s trying to memorize the shape and feel of him. 

It’s quiet and comfortable, and Steve can’t think of anywhere he’d rather be. He hopes Dustin feels the same way, and he thinks that maybe he does, because after a while Dustin opens his mouth and starts talking. 

He tells Steve secrets. 

How he thought he’d hated Steve when he first started dating Nancy – how jealous he’d been – but looking back he thinks he might have gotten it all wrong. He tells Steve how scared he’d been that an alpha – someone like Billy – would show up and take Steve away, and how powerless he still feels, too weak to put up much of a fight if someone would get it into their mind to challenge his claim. 

There’s nothing much Steve can do but pull Dustin closer and tell him secrets of his own, spilling them into Dustin’s ear as Dustin pets his side; how empty his house has been, how alone he’s felt, thinking that there had been something wrong with him for feeling nothing but revulsion whenever an Alpha came close. How he thought he’d never have a chance at this. 

It is the first time he’s said any of it out loud, and it’s amazing to simply be _heard_ like this. Dustin listens to every word with complete focus on Steve and Steve alone, and Steve doesn’t even realize he’s trembling until Dustin shushes him and tips his head to the side so that Steve can scent at the base of the pup’s throat. The Alpha-scent has grown even stronger since this morning, and Steve can’t imagine ever having preferred anything else to this – can’t even remember Dustin’s pup-smell anymore, despite how he less than a day ago had felt despair at the thought of losing it. 

“I’m taking you to meet my mom,” Dustin informs him. 

“I’ve already met your mom,” Steve says, voice muffled against Dustin’s skin, before shamelessly inhaling another lungful and feeling his whole body go lax.

“I know. Just— not like this.”

Steve supposes that’s true. “I need a shower,” he mumbles, and feels Dustin grab at him.

“Not now,” the pup whines. “I meant later!”

“I still need a shower,” Steve repeats, because despite how much he wants to, it’s not realistic to expect the two of them to never leave the bed for the rest of the weekend. “And we need to get you a change of clothes and a toothbrush.”

Dustin huffs a breath against Steve’s temple. “If we go, we’re coming right back here.” It’s not a question, but not really a statement either – an Alpha-pup toeing the line of how much sway he holds over his Omega. 

Steve resists the urge to roll his eyes. 

“Sure,” he says, and waits for Dustin to unwrap his arms around him.

It takes them almost ten minutes to get untangled – not all of which is Dustin’s fault, since Steve doesn’t really want to pull away either – and Steve leaves Dustin to sniff at the bedclothes as he escapes into the bathroom to take a shower.

As it turns out it’s nothing but a giant waste of time because Dustin turns almost frantic when Steve reemerges dressed in new clothes and smelling of nothing but fruity shower gel and a hint of fabric softener. He pulls Steve back into bed and spends fifteen minutes licking at his scent-gland and rubbing his palms down Steve’s back and arms, wetting Steve’s neck so thoroughly that Steve might as well not have bothered to get into the shower in the first place.

//

It’s almost four-thirty by the time they make it to Dustin’s house. 

Steve pulls into the driveway and barely has enough time to kill the engine before Mrs. Henderson swings the front door of the house open, waving cheerfully. Steve wonders how long she’s been expecting them – apart from the early morning phone call they’ve had no further contact today – and he hopes she hasn’t spent all of Saturday at home, waiting.

“She looks pretty happy to see us,” Steve says, feeling suddenly nervous but trying to sound upbeat, and Dustin shoots him a disbelieving look.

“She loves you,” he tells Steve, like it’s obvious.

They get out of the car and make their way up to the house. Dustin climbs the steps leading up to the porch but stops a few feet shy of where Mrs. Henderson is still standing in the open doorway. Steve follows Dustin’s lead, feeling the pup press his arm against Steve’s as they stand shoulder to shoulder.

“Steve, this is my mom,” Dustin tells him, like Steve’s never met the woman before – like he hasn’t spent more time at Dustin’s place than anyone else’s, helping out around the house sometimes, and having Sunday dinner, and— 

“Mom, this is Steve,” Dustin continues. “He’s my— He’s—” 

For probably the first time since Steve’s come to know the pup, he watches Dustin fumble for words, looking up at Steve like he doesn’t know how to quantify what they are to each other now – coming up short as he tries to convey something instinctual and bone-deep in mere words. 

Steve knows the feeling. 

“He’s mine,” is what Dustin settles on, raising his chin like he’s daring his mom to argue the fact, and Steve, a bit lightheaded, thinks, _yeah. Yeah, that’s it_. 

“I’m so happy you’re here, honey,” Mrs. Henderson tells Steve. Her smile is tremulous but genuine and her eyes a bit misty as she looks at him, but she makes no move to touch him. 

It’s a bit disappointing, to be honest, because Mrs. Henderson gives great hugs. Steve knows this from experience. He can’t blame her though, because instincts are nothing to laugh at – especially those of a newly mated Alpha – and while Dustin probably wouldn’t tackle his own mother to the ground if she approached Steve for an unexpected embrace, you never know what reaction it might trigger. 

“Can I give you a hug, honey?” Mrs. Henderson finally asks Steve, but she’s looking at Dustin too, and Steve waits, watching Dustin squirm, obviously conflicted. 

“I think so,” Dustin finally says. “Yeah, you can.”

Mrs. Henderson immediately steps forward to swaddle Steve in a hug, and he happily sinks into the familiarity of her embrace. Her scent is pleasantly sweet with just a hint of vanilla, unassuming like that of most Betas, but still uniquely her own, and there’s a richer undercurrent to it that reminds him vaguely of Dustin. 

“Welcome to the family, Steve.” Mrs. Henderson gives him a tight squeeze before she releases him and takes a step back, and Dustin’s immediately there to press himself up along Steve’s side again.

“Thank you, Ma’am,” Steve says as Dustin fumbles after his hand, lacing their fingers together. 

Mrs. Henderson shakes her head with a fond smile. “Oh, none of that,” she says. “You can call me Claudia now. Or just Mom, if you’d like.”

“We’re gonna pick some of my stuff up and then we’re heading back to Steve’s house,” Dustin tells his mom. “I’m gonna stay over until Monday.”

He’s not asking for permission, not that anyone would think of separating a newly mated Alpha-Omega pair, but even if Dustin might have been used to getting his way even before presenting as an Alpha, Steve’s having flashbacks to the guilty feeling he got during that phone call on Friday morning.

“If that’s alright with you,” he adds as Dustin glowers at him, momentarily more pup than Alpha. 

Mrs. Henderson – _Claudia_ – laughs. “Of course!” she says. “Come on in.”

Dustin takes the lead, tugging Steve into the house by his hand, and they’re a few steps into the living room when Claudia speaks up again. 

“Dusty, why don’t you leave Steve here so that he and I can talk?” she says as she pulls the front door closed. “Your duffel bag is on the top shelf in the closet. It should be big enough for what you need. Go on and pack your things.”

Dustin stops short in the middle of the room. He looks hesitant, hand still clinging to Steve’s as he frowns at his mom. He’s been antsy ever since they left Steve’s house, hyper-vigilant like he’s on the lookout for potential threats – like someone is going to spring out from behind a bush like a crazed cartoon villain and snatch Steve away from him. 

“Go on, baby,” Claudia says. Her voice is soft and warm – she sounds reassuring in the way moms sometimes do, though Steve can only vaguely recall the feeling of his own mother using that tone on him. 

Dustin looks like he’s thinking it over, but eventually he nods and lets go of Steve’s hand. He only glances back over his shoulder once as he leaves the room, and Steve makes sure to watch him go. 

Claudia does the same, and then she turns her attention to Steve, and Steve rolls his shoulders back and stands up straight because this is probably gonna be a Talk. 

Claudia, however, just laughs. “Oh sweetheart, none of that. I meant what I said earlier; you are so very welcome into this family. I hope you know that Dustin and I both love you very much.”

“I, uh—” Steve stutters, feeling his face flush warm, before he settles on, “Thank you.”

Claudia walks into the kitchen and gestures for him to take a seat at the kitchen counter. As soon as he’s comfortable – or as comfortable as he’s ever gonna be, given the circumstances – she starts to putter around, putting the dishes away and wiping at the counters. It’s comfortingly domestic – such a different feeling than cleaning up after himself in his own house – and one of the things Steve really enjoys about visiting the Hendersons. 

“Now,” Claudia finally says, placing the last plate in the cupboard and turning to look at him, “if I know my baby, and I think I do, Dustin has no intention of letting this remain a platonic bond. Would I be right in assuming that you’re thinking along the same lines?”

Getting right to the heart of it, then. Steve’s knee-jerk reaction is to deny everything. Platonic bonds aren’t commonplace, but they do exist, and he doesn’t want to have this conversation now – or _ever_ , actually. If he tried he might be able to divert the attention away from what will surely be an uncomfortable topic, but Claudia is looking at him so earnestly that Steve can’t find it in himself to lie. 

“No,” he says. “It won’t be— platonic. In the future, that is. Because Dustin’s, uh—”

“He’s young,” Claudia says, nodding as if she understands. “And with you being a bit older it might be tempting for him to rush into things. He can get very enthusiastic at times.”

“Yeah,” Steve lamely says, because that’s an understatement. 

“I just want you to know that I’m not expecting you to refuse your Alpha, because I know that would be hard.” She takes a step towards him and reaches out across the counter to gently touch her fingers to his. “You’ll want to make him happy, but don’t forget about your own feelings because they’re just as important.”

Steve nods, and opens his mouth to say— _something_ , he has no clue, maybe put his foot in his mouth to ask if Claudia didn’t prioritize herself when Dustin’s dad left them, but that’s when Tews jumps up onto the counter and startles Steve so badly that he nearly topples off his chair. Claudia is gracious enough to pretend not to notice. 

“Dustin’s young,” she says again, scooping the cat up and cradling it against her chest as Steve rights himself. “It will most likely be up to you to control the pace of things. That means that you’ll also have to be the one that taps the breaks if things go too far, too quickly. Can I trust you to do that, Steve?”

Steve nods, looking everywhere but at her and finally settling on the way Tews is pushing his head back against Claudia’s hand as she pets him, because it sure beats looking her in the eyes right now. “I— We won’t, uh, not unless Dustin’s—”

“Oh, honey, ruts are a completely different matter,” Claudia says with a wave of her hand. “I wouldn’t ask you to go in the face of your natures. I simply don’t want either of you doing anything you’re not comfortable with, and to be properly prepared when things do happen.”

She sets Tews down onto the counter, and he makes his way over to Steve, rubbing his head at the cuff of Steve’s sweater. 

“I’ll be having this conversation with Dusty as well,” Claudia continues as Steve brings his hand up to scratch behind Tews’ ear, “but right now he’s so wrapped up in you that I’m not sure he’d hear a word I’d say.”

“Yeah,” Steve agrees. 

Tews crowds closer, butting his head against Steve’s chin, and Steve brings up both of his hands to stroke down Tews’ back as Tews starts to purr. Steve finds himself relaxing, not as uncomfortable with the conversation as he thought he’d be, which is of course when Claudia ups the ante. 

“I don’t want to be too forward, honey, but are you on birth control?”

“Uh,” Steve manages. 

“Because I want you to be smart and safe,” Claudia says, “and in a stable place in life before you decide on bringing pups of your own into this world.”

 _Pups_ , Steve thinks, _fuck me_. He feels a bit like a deer caught in the headlights, because this has never been a concern before, not with any of his Beta girlfriends – wrong equipment, after all – but now it is, a real concern, that is, or will eventually be, and Steve’s brain is about to short out. 

“It’s early yet,” Claudia continues, “but I feel that I should bring it up since Dustin presented so soon. His rut might come on sooner than expected, too, especially since he’ll have you so close. I’d like for the two of you to be properly prepared.”

“Yeah,” Steve says, still frozen in place, and gets a face full of tail as Tews turns around, unimpressed by the lack of love, and sashays back across the counter to Claudia.

“If you don’t have any I would be happy to help you get an appointment,” she tells Steve as she strokes along the cat’s back. “You could even meet me at the hospital at the end of my shift next week and we can see if Dr. Stone can fit you in.”

“That’s very— Thank you, I mean. I’m— I’m good,” Steve lies, because there’s no way in Hell he’s gonna sit bare-assed in a hospital gown on an examination table and talk birth control with Dustin’s mom present. 

He’s got condoms lying around somewhere, but those are intended for Betas – and Omegas looking to stay clean – and not at all suited for Alpha-knots. Not that it matters, since the condoms will probably have long expired by the time Dustin even comes close to hitting his first rut. Still, Claudia probably has the right idea when it comes to birth control; Steve might have to brave a visit to old man Crane, the Harrington family doctor – it’s gonna be awkward, but at least it won’t be as embarrassing as involving the woman who is practically his future mother-in-law.

Claudia almost looks like she’s going to insist on being there for him, but then her eyes are drawn to something over Steve’s shoulder. He turns to find Dustin standing in the middle of the living room, head tilted to the side as he squints at them.

“Mom?” the pup says, frowning, and then he sets the duffel bag he’s been holding down onto the floor and lopes over to press himself against Steve’s back, sniffing behind his ear.

Steve doesn’t think he’s been putting out distress pheromones, but considering the direction the conversation was going, it really is anyone’s guess. Dustin sure seems to think something’s wrong, judging by the way he’s wrapping his arms around Steve’s waist, hugging him from behind. 

Steve leans into the embrace and reaches down to pat Dustin’s arm. “I’m good,” he tells him, and then he looks to Claudia. “We should probably—”

“Of course,” she says, and doesn’t even attempt to hide her smile as Dustin tries to tug Steve out of his chair.

To be honest Steve’s just as happy as Dustin is to tell Claudia goodbye and escape back to the safety of his own house.

//

As Steve had agreed, they don’t leave the house for the rest of the weekend, though they manage to migrate from the bed to the couch in Steve’s living room.

They spend Saturday evening and all of Sunday there, sharing a blanket as they watch movies and eat takeout. Steve develops a pretty bad crick in the neck for spending Saturday night sleeping on the couch – Dustin does not a soft pillow make – which the pup tries to make up for by giving Steve a neck rub, though Steve suspects he’s doing it for himself as much as for Steve.

On Sunday evening he makes sure they relocate back upstairs, and they fall asleep in Steve’s bed, sharing a pillow.

//

On Monday morning Dustin insists on leaving the house early. Steve goes along with it even though he would have rather spent that extra bit of time in bed, the two of them curled up together beneath the warmth of the covers. 

He doesn’t really understand why they suddenly need to be so punctual, not until they pull into an empty parking space outside Hawkins Middle School twenty minutes before the bell’s due to ring; as soon as they’re stationary Dustin scrambles to unbuckle his seatbelt and leans over the center console, pulling at Steve’s jacket so that he can reach to sniff at Steve’s jawline and his temple, hand cupping the back of Steve’s neck to make sure that he doesn’t pull away. Steve blindly fumbles for the ignition and kills the engine, before leaning back again to let Dustin fuss. 

“C’mon,” he groans when Dustin buries his nose in the hair by Steve’s temple, inhaling, and Dustin pulls back with an apologetic look. 

“Sorry,” he says, “I’ll fix it,” and then uses his fingers to make even more of a mess of Steve’s carefully crafted look. “Sorry. I just gotta—”

“No, s’okay,” Steve sighs. He’ll take care of it later. 

“I just gotta make sure it’s right,” Dustin says. He sounds frustrated, and his voice is strained, and it dawns on Steve that Dustin’s been running on pure instinct so far – that there might be things he has to work to get better at, too.

“Hey,” Steve says. “Tell me what you need.”

Dustin sighs and shakes his head, hands coming up to cup Steve’s face, tilting his head back so that he can get at Steve’s throat, pressing his mouth to the skin there. 

Steve shivers as Dustin licks across his scent-gland, the skin a bit tender from all the attention it’s gotten over the past few days. It feels good too, though; the Omega in him squirms in satisfaction at the interest its Alpha is showing, and Steve finds himself drifting a bit, only coming back to himself with a soft sigh when Dustin pulls away. He reaches up to touch his neck, skin wet where Dustin’s been lapping at it, and Dustin follows the movement of his hand with sharp eyes. 

“Is it good now?” Steve asks, and fuck, his voice is hoarse like— like they’ve been doing things Dustin shouldn’t even be _thinking_ about doing yet. 

Dustin doesn’t react to the sound. He looks a bit unsure instead. “I— Maybe. I think so?” He frowns. “You smell better now. More like— me.”

Steve should’ve known it was a scent thing. “Don’t worry,” he says, trying to sound reassuring. “I’m pretty sure everyone’s gonna know.”

Dustin’s too busy unwrapping his scarf from around his neck to respond, if he’s even listening. The thing’s like twenty feet long, so it takes him a good minute, but once it’s off he pushes it at Steve.

“Would you—?” he asks. 

Steve sighs as he takes the scarf, but can’t resist lifting it to his face so that he can give the wool a sniff. Dustin’s scent clings to the fibers so strongly that it’s almost like leaning in and scenting Dustin in person, and Steve resigns himself to the fact that he’s gonna end up wearing the damn thing all day long.

Dustin looks pleased when Steve loops the scarf loosely around his neck – looks like he wants to give Steve his hat to wear, too, just to drive the point home, but then thinks better of it. Steve’s grateful, because he made sure to get his hair just right this morning – before Dustin messed it up, that is – and he gets the feeling that he would probably have worn the fucking hat too had Dustin actually offered it to him. 

“I’ll miss you,” Dustin tells him sincerely. 

He looks sad, like once he gets out of the car they won’t be seeing each other for a long while, which is ridiculous, because it won’t be more than eight hours until Steve’ll be picking him up again. But Steve can’t tell Dustin that, because he feels it too – the churning near-nausea in the pit of his stomach at the thought of leaving Dustin behind – and he almost bites back the _I’ll miss you too_ , but this is his Alpha, and who else should he be able to share these things with?

“Yeah,” he says, and then leans over to rest his forehead against Dustin’s temple, closing his eyes as he feels Dustin tentatively reach for his hand where it’s resting on the seat, his fingertips cold against Steve’s. “Me too.”

//

Steve lingers in his car in Hawkins High’s parking lot long after he’s managed to get his hair back in order. 

As he’d suspected it had been surprisingly difficult to leave Dustin behind and drive off, like their new bond had been a tangible thing drawing him back to his Alpha; pulling out of the parking lot and watching Dustin’s reflection disappear in the rearview mirror had felt almost like a loss, and Steve still feels anxious, is still a bit sick to his stomach – nervous, like he used to feel back when his parents still cared enough to make a big show out of opening and reading his report cards in front of him. 

“You’re being ridiculous,” Steve tells himself out loud. His knuckles are turning white where he’s tightly gripping the steering wheel, and he flexes his fingers, trying to convince himself to get out of the fucking car. It takes another few minutes before he can finally talk himself into opening the driver’s-side door and climbing out, still feeling off-kilter. 

His first stop is the school receptionist’s office, where Ms. Doyle takes one look at him, scents the air, and like the sun peeking out from behind the clouds, her perpetual frown suddenly gives way to a soft smile. Steve never even knew her face could make that kind of expression.

“Don’t worry about it, dear,” she tells him after he’s stumbled through an explanation of why he never showed up on Friday, and then she sends him on his way without as much as a chewing out.

Somewhat perplexed by her good mood, Steve leaves her office and heads back into the hallway, trying to not jostle anyone as he makes his way through the crowd to his locker. He tries to ignore the way freshman and seniors alike are suddenly quick to get out of his path, whispering behind his back as he walks past. He can feel their stares burning the back of his head too, and he might be wearing Dustin’s ugly-as-Hell scarf, and his hair game might not be as on point as it usually is, but he doesn’t think he looks different enough to warrant this kind of attention.

By the time Steve finally makes it to his locker he’s got ten minutes left before he has to get to class, but he doesn’t even care because it seems like everyone’s looking at him, like there’s a joke going around and Steve’s the only one not in on it. Dan, the beta who’s got one of the lockers next to Steve’s, takes an exaggerated sniff in Steve’s direction and shoots him a weird look before slamming his locker shut and walking away, and Steve—

Steve takes a deep breath too, scenting the air, and it smells like— like nothing. 

There’s no rancid stink in the air – not a hint of the pungent smell of rot that usually hangs around the hallways of Hawkins High like a thick cloud. Steve stares blindly into the depths of his open locker and takes another breath, breathing freely for the first time in years. 

His thoughts are racing as he reaches out to gather the books he’ll need for his first class of the day, because fuck, how didn’t he notice this before? How didn’t it hit him in the face as soon as he set foot inside the building?

The whirl of questions running through his mind is distracting, to say the least, and when he grabs for his pencil he fumbles, sending it clattering to the floor. It’s not until he bends down to pick it up and gets a face full of scarf for his troubles that he realizes that no, he’s not finally miraculously smelling _nothing_ – he’s simply smelling the same scent he’s been losing himself in all weekend. 

He’s smelling _Dustin_ – in the scarf and in his clothes and on his skin – because the Alpha-scent the pup’s left behind is potent enough to block out anything else. 

Steve dips his head, sticking his nose into the fabric of the scarf and inhaling, and yeah, the scent’s stronger there, but for all his inexperience Dustin seems to have done a pretty impressive job of scent-marking Steve too, because Steve honestly can’t seem to smell anyone or anything but Dustin right now. 

His inner Omega purrs in satisfaction, and Steve pretty much has to force himself to raise his head and pull his nose out of the scarf, because otherwise, he’d be standing there all day, just sniffing at it – and fuck, according to the clock on the wall he’s already lost three minutes. No wonder everyone’s giving him strange looks. 

Distraction be damned, Steve’s not going to be able to leave the scarf in his locker or part with it for even a minute, and he grits his teeth and grabs an eraser.

When he turns to close the locker door he finds himself face to face with Billy Hargrove. 

“Well, fuck me,” the Alpha drawls, leaning against the locker next to Steve’s. “This why you ditched last Friday, Harrington?”

Steve bites back the _Nice of you to have noticed_ that’s threatening to escape as Hargrove leans in to take an exaggerated sniff in Steve’s direction. Steve braces himself for the overwhelming stink of sour rot that usually surrounds Billy like a cloak, but there’s still nothing, just the rich scent of Dustin in the scarf and on Steve’s skin, permeating Steve’s senses and masking everything else. 

“Huh,” Hargrove says, casually leaning back again as if he hasn’t noticed the way Steve’s whole body has gone rigid. “I don’t think I know that scent. Fuck, Harrington. New Alpha rolls into town and first thing you do is spread your legs and let him knot you? Didn’t anyone ever tell you to keep away from strangers?”

Steve slams his locker shut. “Fuck off,” he says, turning to leave, and Hargrove’s gaze feels almost like an unwanted physical touch as it sweeps over him. 

“No mark, though,” the Alpha drawls. “Your stranger didn’t think you good enough a bitch to sink his teeth into? You that bad of a fuck? Or—” a sly grin spreads across Hargrove’s face “—is that one of your pups, Harrington? You got yourself an Alpha-pup?”

Steve suspects that the old Steve of last week – the Steve who didn’t have an Alpha, who’d never spent a weekend in bed getting scented and petted by someone who loves him – would have reacted. Would have maybe given as good as he got, using words if not fists and claws, and landed both Billy and himself in detention. 

But the new Steve – the one who’s wearing Dustin’s scarf, the Omega who smells of his Alpha, and who just needs to get through the rest of the day so that he can pick Dustin up from school and sink into the comfort of his company and touch again – knows that whatever Hargrove’s saying, it doesn’t matter. 

Billy Hargrove can’t touch him. 

So Steve simply sneers and walks away, ignoring the booming sound of Hargrove’s laughter erupting behind him. 

//

Word travels fast, and by the second period everyone seems to know that Steve’s found his mate. Not that word of mouth is needed when Dustin’s scent-marked him thoroughly enough for even the Betas to be able to smell it, the possessive little fucker. 

People seem to give Steve a wide berth as he walks to class, which suits him just fine – he spends what feels like the better part of the morning in an almost-stupor, like he’s having some kind of out of body experience. It makes him useless in class – even more so than usual – but the teachers don’t seem to mind that he’d rather sniff at the scarf and count down the minutes to the end of the day than focus on their material. Rather, they indulge him whenever he has to ask them to repeat a question, and if he doesn’t know the answer they simply pick someone else. 

Mrs. Click actually smiles at him when she hands out her surprise pop quiz, asking if he wants to skip it, and Steve thanks her and escapes to the restroom where he spends who knows how long staring at himself in the mirror, taking in the flush in his cheeks and the dilation of his pupils – like he’s on some kind of damn high – and he can’t help but wonder if maybe he came back to soon.

Because he can almost feel the phantom press of Dustin against his side, his heart picking up the pace until he turns around and realizes Dustin’s not there, and he doesn’t know if this is normal or not, doesn’t know if maybe he should’ve spent a few more days at home, just him and Dustin, alone – his inner Omega perks up at the thought – but it’s too late to do anything about that now, so he’s gotta man up and deal with it. 

Steve takes a deep breath and slowly exhales, ducking his head down so that he can stick his nose into the scarf again, and tries not to whimper at the first inhale of the scent that still clings to it. He’s— he’s okay. He’s feeling alright, feeling good, just has a bit of separation anxiety to deal with. No big deal. 

“You’re fine,” he tells himself as he turns on the tap and cups his palms beneath the water, bending down to wet his face. 

//

Sometime between ambushing Steve at his locker and second period, Hargrove must have flapped his big, fat mouth, because as Steve makes his way to the cafeteria it seems that word has spread that his Alpha isn’t some mysterious newcomer to Hawkins but rather someone who just presented. 

It doesn’t really bother Steve, because it’s not like these things can be kept secret for very long – not with Alphas and their hard-ons for scent-marking the hell out of their mates. 

And it’s not like he’s ashamed of Dustin, or that having an Alpha-pup as his mate will somehow ruin his reputation even if he did care; Alpha-Omega mates are rare, more prevalent in Hollywood romances than in actual, real life, and if the gossip is fueled by anything it will be excitement and maybe a bit of jealousy on part of the Beta girls and boys who, simply due to their nature, will never find true mates of their own. 

So no, Steve’s not bothered, he just— He’d hoped to keep Dustin to himself for just a bit more, to preserve the feeling of the two of them, in their little bubble, alone, for a while longer. Because Steve’s not even gonna pretend that Omegas can’t be as territorial as their Alphas, and standing in line to get his food he can feel his hackles start to raise as Betas and Alphas alike take inconspicuous sniffs in his direction, trying to figure out who his Alpha might be. 

He escapes to a table in the far corner of the room as soon as he’s able to, nearly dropping and baring his fangs at anyone who even thinks about joining him for lunch, and that pretty much sets the mood for the rest of the day. 

By two-thirty Steve has had enough. Hawkins Middle School lets out at three o’clock, so he decides to ditch the rest of his classes, shoves his books into his locker, and escapes into the parking lot. 

It’s a bit of surprise to find Nancy waiting for him there. She’s leaning against the driver’s-side door of his BMW, bundled up in her jacket with her notebooks clutched to her chest. Jonathan’s there too, because he’s Nancy’s perpetual companion these days; if Steve hadn’t known better – hadn’t known that they were both Betas – he would’ve figured them to be mates, because lately wherever Nancy Wheeler goes, Jonathan Byers follows. 

Nancy smiles when she turns and spots Steve, and she looks pleased with herself, like she’d gambled on the fact that he was gonna ditch and is happy to be proven right. 

“You never did like Geography,” she tells him when he gets closer. 

Steve rolls his eyes and watches Jonathan drape his arm around Nancy, and Steve braces himself for the usual bang of hurt that normally hits whenever he sees the two of them together, but it never comes. 

Instead, as Nancy tilts her head back and delicately sniffs in Steve’s direction, scenting the air, and the bridge of her nose crinkles in that familiar way, Steve feels—

Fondness. 

They’d been together for little more than twelve months, from after he asked her out at the beginning of his Junior year right up until the Upside Down tore its way back into their lives a couple of months ago. That’s when Nancy had gone off with Byers and discovered that he apparently suited her better than Steve ever would, even though she never outright told Steve as much. Not that it mattered, because he’d had no problem reading between the lines, and even though he might not have shown it he’d been— hurt, like she’d given him another slap to the face. 

Because he couldn’t be with Alphas and suddenly he wasn’t good enough for this Beta either, and that familiar festering sense of doubt had been quick to return. Because it must be something about _him_ that caused this, but he hadn’t known which part of himself to change to make it better. And if it hadn’t been for the gaggle of pups that he’d suddenly acquired and who were now demanding all of his attention – Dustin more than the others – Steve thinks he might have ended up doing something stupid and potentially irreversible. 

Looking back, he’s aware that his relationship with Nancy had really only been his first proper attempt at suffocating that empty feeling inside of him – of filling the vacant space where his Omega restlessly used to pace – and even though he’s come to terms with the fact that she hadn’t actually been that good of a fit, at the time he’d told himself it had been enough. 

But it’s gone now, he realizes. He doesn’t feel anything like that anymore. Steve watches as Jonathan’s fingers carefully curl around Nancy’s shoulder and is kind of floored by the knowledge that he has that now – has something _better_ , a fledgling bond ready to flare to life as soon as he and Dustin decide to take that step.

The thought of his Alpha makes the pull of their bond spring to the forefront of Steve’s mind, and he gives a shaky exhales as his instinct tells him to get in the car and leave. 

Nancy’s blocking the way, though, and her eyes are drawn to the scarf Steve’s still got looped around his neck. He hasn’t taken it off once since Dustin handed it to him this morning, not even when he almost overheated in English, and it’s been catching strange looks all day long – probably because it’s a horrific orange-green mess that clashes with every single piece of clothing Steve owns. 

Steve figures that most people might have assumed that his recent mating has somehow left him suddenly and completely devoid of taste, but he’s pretty sure that Nancy knows better – she must have seen Dustin wear the ugly thing around her house often enough for her to draw the correct conclusion. 

“People have been saying—” she carefully says, as expected. “Well. Mike was complaining that Dustin didn’t show up on Saturday. They were supposed to play their game. Is it—?”

“Yeah,” Steve admits, and Nancy’s face lights up with a smile. 

“He adores you,” she tells him. “Even before – I could tell. He probably would’ve issued a challenge if he hadn’t been the one to claim you. I mean, if your Alpha had ended up being someone else.”

Steve clenches his jaw and thinks _There was never gonna be anyone else_ with enough furious conviction to surprise even himself. 

“We’re happy for you,” Nancy says, looking back at Byers – who as always is a man of few words – to include him in the statement. Steve finds himself surprised to see that she looks like she actually means it. “Can I— Would it be alright if I gave you a hug?”

Steve hesitates. He hadn’t wanted her to touch him after they’d broken up – hadn’t wanted anyone to come near him, and had basically only tolerated Dustin’s company for the first few weeks after it had hit home that Nancy had actually left him. He hadn’t considered why that was – hadn’t bothered to even wonder why he’d allowed Dustin and Dustin alone so close at the time – but the reason is obvious in hindsight. 

“Yeah, sure,” Steve says, and finds that he means it, too. 

//

At just before three o’clock, Steve finds himself sitting in his car in the parking lot of Hawkins Middle, waiting for school to let out, and feeling a bit exposed for it. 

It might not be the first time he’s picked the pups up – on days with particularly bad weather, the Omega in him has sometimes compelled him to give them all rides home, just to ensure that they won’t get wet and catch a cold – but it’s the first time he’s been here as an Omega waiting to see its Alpha, and he feels like all the mothers in their station wagons will take one look at him and _know_. 

With three minutes left before the school day’s officially over the doors of the school slam open and Dustin comes bounding out, no doubt having talked his way into getting excused early. He frantically looks around, and when he finally spots Steve’s BMW his face lights up and he starts sprinting across the parking lot. Steve wants to throw the door open and call out to him to take it easy, because it’s getting cold again and there might be ice, but he bites his tongue. 

Dustin yanks the passenger side door open as soon as he makes it to the car, breathing heavily as he climbs inside. Steve makes a mental note to get the pup working on his cardio. 

“Hi,” Dustin says, and his cheeks and the tip of his nose are pink from the chill in the air.

For a moment Steve feels guilty for taking the scarf and leaving Dustin to freeze, but Dustin doesn’t seem to mind – if anything, he appears pleased when he sees that Steve’s still wearing it; his face lights up in a grin and he reaches out for Steve, leaning across the center console to sniff at the scarf. 

He frowns, but if he can smell Nancy on Steve he doesn’t mention it.

“It still smells like me,” he says instead, sounding satisfied. 

“It— helped,” Steve admits, and Dustin beams at him. 

“You should wear it tomorrow too!” he says. 

Steve jerks as Dustin’s fingers come up to pull at the scarf, loosening it from around Steve’s neck, because the pup’s hands are cold, but before Steve can protest Dustin shuffles closer, tugging the scarf away and leaning in to lick a wide swatch along the side of Steve’s neck. 

“Easy,” Steve says, shivering as he feels Dustin gently scrape his teeth across Steve’s scent-gland.

He figures this is fair, though – Dustin left his scarf with Steve, but Steve gave Dustin nothing in return, so he must need this. Then Steve frowns because he doesn’t even know if Dustin would need – or even want – something of Steve’s, and he’s just about to ask when Dustin bites him.

Steve yelps, trying to wrench away from the sting of it, and ends up almost dragging Dustin across the center console.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Dustin babbles against Steve’s neck, hugging him and licking across the sore skin like he’s a mother cat trying to soothe Steve’s hurt. Then he ducks down to hide his face against Steve’s shoulder. “Sorry,” he says again, and he sounds like he’s about to cry.

Steve sighs. “It’s okay,” he says, turning to rest his cheek against the top of Dustin’s head. “It’s alright. It doesn’t hurt anymore.” 

It’s a bit of a lie, but when Steve carefully reaches up to touch his neck his fingers don’t come back bloody, so it can’t be that bad. 

“I don’t know what I’m doing,” Dustin whispers against Steve’s shoulder, like Steve’s not supposed to know.

Steve huffs a laugh, if only because he can empathize. “You and me both, dude. We’ll— We’ll figure it out together, yeah? Like we did with Dart and the Demodogs.”

Dustin sniffs and nods against Steve’s shoulder. “’Kay,” he says, voice muffled.

Steve sighs again and cups the back of Dustin’s head. “Okay,” he echoes and looks across the parking lot to see kids spilling out from the school entrance, the younger ones shrieking like they’re seeing freedom for the first time in years.

A car engine roars to life somewhere to the left of the BMW, and Steve’s face flushes with heat as he remembers the moms in their station wagons, all of who might have just seen him get mauled by a middle schooler.

“The, uh— The dipshits,” Steve says, trying to take his mind off things he can’t change, “do they need rides home?”

“They’re in AV Club,” Dustin mutters sullenly.

“Alright.” Steve cards his fingers through the curls at the back of Dustin’s head. “Want to head home?”

“Yeah.”

Steve waits until Dustin’s pulled away from him and is properly buckled into his seat before he turns the ignition and puts the car into gear. He glances at Dustin as he backs out of the parking space, mindful of the children running wild with no regard for their own safety, but Dustin won’t meet his eyes. His face is red, and his jaw is clenched like he’s angry, but Steve thinks it might just be due to plain old embarrassment.

“Hey, want to hold my hand?” he casually asks as he pulls out of the parking lot and onto Cherry Road.

Like Steve suspected, the offer immediately catches Dustin’s attention. “Yeah?” the pup breathes and turns to look at him, eyes widening as he visibly perks up.

“Wouldn’t offer if I didn’t mean it.” Steve wiggles the fingers of his right hand as Dustin straightens out of his slouch. “But you gotta let go when I need to change gears.”

“Deal!” Dustin agrees, quick to grab Steve’s hand and lace their fingers together. 

He can feel the pup rub his thumb against Steve’s, and when he glances away from the road he can see that Dustin’s got that look on his face, the one that means that he’s found a problem and is trying to work out how to solve it.

Steve’s not sure, but he suspects that by month’s end Dustin will have figured out a way to free Steve’s hand up for good – probably by changing the gears himself.

“Don’t even think about it,” Steve says, squeezing Dustin’s hand in warning.

Dustin just grins. 

//

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for making it all the way through to the end; I hope you liked it!
> 
> I’d love to write more in this ’verse but my imagination is running a bit dry at the moment. Is there anything in particular any of you would like to read involving alpha!Dustin and omega!Steve? Feel free to drop me a suggestion in a comment!


End file.
